Adaptive gaming behavior based on player profiling

ABSTRACT

A method of adaptive computer game play based on profiling. A set of important characteistics are defined for a game. The data relating to the important characteristics is accumulated during game play based on a defined granularity to which each important characteristic should be kept. A player profile reflecting the important characteristics kept to the defined granularity is derived. The player profile may be used to affect subsequent game play as, for example, a proxy for the creating player.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention

The invention relates to computer gaming. More specifically, theinvention relates to the collection of metrics reflecting a player'sabilities in regard to key gaming attributes, the assemblage of thesemetrics into a player profile which is available as an output of a gamesession, and the use of player profiles as an influencing mechanism infuture game sessions.

(2) Related Art

Most computer game behavior can be viewed conceptually as a series ofvectors. Each game vector represents one of a number of possible waysthe game could function at that particular point in the game. From thesoftware developer's perspective game behavior can be viewed as the paththat the code will take at that point (ex. jump to a particularsub-routine vs. not jump, or setting a variable to one of many possiblevalues). From the player's perspective game behavior can be viewed asthe environmental and situational context the game presents at a givenpoint in the game. In this sense game behavior embodies the level ofchallenge presented by the environment and a player's virual opponents.

All games possess characteristics which correlate to specific skillsthat are particularly important for a player to possess for success inthe game. Such characteristics will vary from game to game. As anexample, in a tank warfare game, possible important characteristicsmight be reaction time, accuracy (at different ranges), and resource(e.g., ammo) conservation.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual model of prior art game behavior. Each vector 2in the series that models game behavior has a number of contributingcomponents, including underlying constraints 5, random factors 6, andplayer interaction 7. Underlying constraints 5 are explicitly orimplicitly fixed by the construction of the game program and userconfiguration. For example, the player may be able to configure the gameto provide low, medium, or high levels of challenge. The underlyingconstraints 5 could also include the game's ability to present a greateror lesser challenge as the player proceeds through various levels of thegame or in response to the players success at the game independent of,or in conjunction with explicit user configuration.

Random factors 6 are elements solely based on randomness whichcontribute to game behavior by impacting the game's interaction with aplayer. Random factors 6 are explicitly and will cause the me to behavedifferently during different ins ons of the game, independent of otherfactor Random factors 6 determine the relative importance of each of theimportant characteristics during any particular insintation of the game.

Player interaction 7 are inputs received during game play from theplayer which effect game behavior.

Underlying constraints 5 typically mandate a staring point from whichthe first vector in the series begins. From the initial vector, the tail4 of each successive vector 2 in a series is the head 3 of the precedingvector 2. The head 3 of each vector can be thought of as an inflectionpoint 8. At each inflection point 8, more than one possible vector 2 mayresult. The composite of the underlying constraints 5, playerinteraction 7, and random factors 6 dictate the direction and magnitudeof each subsequent vector 2.

Underlying constants 5, random factors, 6 and player interaction 7 areall elements that exert influence upon the direction of the next vector2 at each inflection point 8. As a simple example, in a labyrinth typegame, a player may encounter a T-intersection which allows the player toproceed to the right or left The encounter with the T-intersection couldbe solely based on underlying constraints (upon reaching that point inthe game the T-intersection will invariably be there). The encounterwith the T-intersection could be solely based on random factors(sometimes the T-intersection will be there, and sometimes it won't be,based on a purely random software function). The encounter with theT-intersection could be solely based on player interaction (TheT-intersection will be there if the player successfully completed aprior challenge in a given amount of time). The encounter with theT-intersection could be based on a combination of two or three of theelements (Upon reaching that point in the game the T-intersection willinvariably be there, but at random times there will be a helpful gameobject made available at the intersection, if the player successfullycompleted a prior challenge in a given amount of time).

With this model in mind, computer gaming typically occurs in one of twomodes: 1) player vs. computer, and 2) player vs. player(s). Many playersregard player vs. player(s) or head-to-head competition as more fun andmore interesting. In the player vs. player(s) mode, the playerinteraction component of each vector has multiple constituents: one forthe first player and one for each additional player. This results in amore pleasurable gaming experience as it provides the players with apersonal interaction element not available when competing against thecomputer. The desirability of a personal interaction element is based onthe psychological principles of identity and ego. In general it is abetter gaming experience if participants play the game together, insteadof just playing a synchronously and comparing scores.

However there are several factors that can make head-to-head gamingdifficult and can detract from the experience. Sufficient communicationbandwidth to provide head-to-head game players with real-time responsemay not always be available due to excessive bandwidth requirements fora particular game, or due to a Communication Service Provider'sinability to provide even a modest amount of bandwidth at any particulartime. Personal scheduling constraints often prevent two or more playersfrom competing in a head-to-head manner. Additionally, it is oftendifficult to find players who are sufficiently evenly matched for thegame to be of peal enjoyment for all players. Moreover, large scalehead-to-head tournaments are very difficult to orchestrate because ofthe logistics required to coordinate such a tournament. Thus, whileplaying against the computer is generally inferior to head-to-headgaming, it does allow a player to play when the above-mentioned factorsprevent or diminish head-to-head competition.

When playing solo against the computer, many games permit the user tospecify a level of their opponent such as 1) beginner, 2) intermediate,or 3) advanced which may provide for a better match than head-to-headcompetition between two poorly matched players. Additionally, somegames, particularly, chess, have been developed where the game actuallylearns from its mistakes and becomes better and better throughsubsequent matches. Even so, playing the computer may fail to provide asrobust a gaming experience with the personal interactive element thatmany players desire.

In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to be able to enhancethe solo gaming experience with the same personal interaction elementsprovided by head-to-head gaming when head-to-head competition isdifficult or not possible. It would also be desirable if a system foraccessing the skills of other players towards the end of determiningpotential suitable gaming partners was available. It would also bedesirable if a meaningful handicapping mechanism which leveled theadvantages one player may have over another player could be applied tohead-to-head games. It would also be desirable to provide a system whichwould provide the foundation for large scale tournaments whose outcomeswere dependent upon permutations of actual skills against random gameinstantiations but did not impose the logistical constraints of ahead-to-head tournament.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method of adaptive game play based on profiling is disclosed. A set ofimportant characterics are defined for a game. The data relating to theimportant characteristics is accumulated during game play based on adefined granularity to which each important characteristic should bekept A player poil reflecting the important characeristics kept to thedefined granularity is derived. The player profile may be used to affectsubsequent game play as, for example, a proxy for the creating player.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a conceptual model of prior art game behavior.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual model of game behavior in one embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 3 is an example of tabulation of statist of an exemplary portion ofa player profile of one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a timeline of recursive profile generation.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a system organization which, in addition toproviding ready transferability of player profiles, also facilitatesother profile related operations which are independent of both players.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual model of a profile enabled pseudo-game of theinvention.

FIG. 7 is a timeline of a cooperative profile gaming experience.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 2 shows a conceptual model of game behavior in one embodiment ofthe invention. In this embodiment, four components contribute atinflection point 8 to the magnitude and direction of the correspondingvector 2. From a software developer perspective direction is flowthrough code, while magnitude corresponds to the value of variables.These components are underlying constraints 5, random factors 6, playerinteraction 7, and profile based inputs 1. The profile based inputs comefrom one or more player profiles (PPs). The way profile based inputaffects game behavior at inflection points 8 is discussed further below.

In one embodiment, a PP is a composite of metrics measuring importantcharacteristics which may also be termed key gaming attributes. Tocreate a PP, important characteristics which compose the PP are defined.These characteristics are derived from the player interaction during thesession in which the PP is created. In addition to defining theimportant characteristics, the granularity to which thosecharacteristics will be identified and maintained in the PP is alsodefined. For example, if an important char is accuracy with a handgun,it may well make sense and certainly makes the PP more robust if metricsof accuracy are kept at different ranges. This may result in categoriessuch as short, intermediate, and long range, or even greatergranularity, e.g., one meter increments out to some maximum range.

As a second example, if response time is defined to be an importantcharacteristic, its importance likely varies between an inflection pointwhich constitutes merely a decision on direction at an intersection anda combat related inflection point. Thus, combat response time may bekept to some granularity, while response time to non-combat inflectionpoints may be ignored entirely or kept as a separate characteristic withits own granularity. Clearly, the more characteristics kept and thegreater the granularity, the more storage space required to store the PPand the more computation power required to accumulate the data fromwhich the metrics are derived. But more detailed PPs lead to a bettergaming experience, particularly when the PP is used as a proxy opponentas discussed below.

While FIG. 2 shows only five vectors 2 and five inflection points 8, itis merely illustrative and is not meant to imply that a game will havemerely five inflection points 8. Rather, it is contemplated that atypical game session will have a large number of inflection points fromwhich statistically significant information can be drawn to create a PPand upon which a PP may exert an influence. It will be readilyunderstood by one of ordinary skill in the art that too small a samplesize, e.g., too few inflection points, may not yield a statisticallyrelevant profile, the profile created from a small sample size may bedetermined to be artificially proficient in one or more characteristicsand/or artificially deficient in one or more characteristics. Largersample sizes reduce the risk and effect of outliers, possibly evenpermitting outlying samples to be eliminated in the derivation of the PPfrom the raw data. Existing programming techniques can be employed tocapture the necessary raw data as well as perform any desiredstatistical manipulation. There may be methods of profiling that do notrequire a statistical treatment. For instance, in a labyrinth type gamethe player could have been presented with certain clues beforeencountering a junction that would let them know whether they shouldturn right or left Profiling could keep track of the players success ofdetecting different classes of clues. This data would effect subsequentPP based interaction with the game, but would not be dependent upon astatistical approach.

FIG. 3 is a tabulation of statistics of an exemplary portion of a PP.For the game to which the profile of FIG. 3 applies long range accuracy,close range accuracy and combat response time have been defined to beimportant characteristics. During a game session, the system, or node onwhich the game is being played, accumulates raw data which can beconcurrently converted into the metrics of each important characteristicor can be maintained as raw data and converted to the metric in mass atthe end of the game session. Mass conversion permits better statisticalmanipulation, but requires more storage space than updates of the metricin response to each incoming piece of raw data.

For example, as to accuracy, the metric is the percent of shots that hit(subdivided into wounds and kills). The granularity could be expandedby, for example, adjustment for target size or specific placement ofhits on the target (e.g., shot/hit an arm). As shown in FIG. 3, the PPhas a 55% hit rate in long range shoot-outs and a 68% hit rate in closerange encounters. In response time, the metric is milliseconds before aresponse occurs. After a significant number of events, a statisticallikelihood of a response occurring in each defined granule can bederived.

Response time, shown in FIG. 3, is particularly illusive of theimportance of choosing proper granularity. If granularity instead ofbeing chosen to be 100 millisecond increments was set at half secondincrements, well over 90% of all responses within this profile wouldoccur in the first half second. Assuming this profile is representativeof a typical player, such granularity would fail to provide anymeaningful distinction as to response time between most players. It canalso be seen that further division of the 200 or 300 millisecond and the300-400 millisecond range might be made to provide an improveddistribution as to different PPs. Moreover, there may also be acorrelation between two important characteristics. For example, fasterresponse time may reduce accuracy. Therefore, in one embodiment, part ofderiving the PP might be defining functional relationships betweencorrelated characteristics. As mentioned above, greater granularitywill, of course, require additional storage capacity to maintain and mayincrease processor load during game play, though it will ultimatelyprovide a more robust, enjoyable, profile based play experience.

While in the first exemplary embodiment, PPs were generated exclusivelythrough actual play of the game. In an alternative embodiment where timeconstraints may be undesirable or impossible to generate a statisticallysignificant PP through play, a PP may be generated in a highlight reelfacsimile of the game. The highlight reel facsimile of the game clustersa very large number of inflection points into a highly condensedtimeframe to permit the player to generate a large amount of datarelevant to the important characteristics in a short time frame. Like ahighlight reel of a football game, the action from a multi-hour gamesession may be condensed to only a few minutes.

It is envisioned that profile based input 1 in FIG. 2 may take any ofseveral forms. The PP may be used as a proxy for the player that createdit. This allows simulated head-to-head competition with a proxy (virual)opponent with skills similar to the player creating the PP. A firstplayer may even play against a proxy of itself by playing against aself-created PP. While still not quite the same as head-to-headcompetition, it is envisioned that playing against a PP as a proxy for"real" person will yield an improved gaming experience over simplyplaying solo against the computer.

Additionally, playing against the PP may permit a player to identifygood candidates for head-to-head match-ups without having to overcomereal life scheduling conflicts for a test match. For example, if a firstplayer plays against a PP of a second player and finds the match-upsatisfactory, the user only then may establish contact with a secondplayer who created the profile to schedule a head-to-head match.Conversely, if the second player's PP is not a satisfactory opponent,the PP may be discarded without making contact with its creator. PPs maybe sold/supplied on disks or over the Internet allowing a player toacquire a broad selection of virtual opponents. This might beparticularly valuable in the context of celebrity profiles. For purposesof integrity, the profiles should model the celebrity's game skills,e.g., be generated in the usual way not merely representing thequalities a programmer attributes to the celebrity.

An alternative use for PPs is to handicap players, thereby making not soequally matched players more equally matched. For example, if a firstplayer is a much superior shot, e.g., much better accuracy, they may behandicapped by a slower weapon, less ammunition, or requiring fewer hitsto kill. Other handicapping is, of course, possible and within the scopeand contemplation of the invention. This handicapping function is usefuleven where the players are not competing directly, but rather, arecompeting, for example, for a score. A player with a superior PP mayface tougher opponents or be granted fewer points for overcoming thesame opponents.

In the discussion above, PPs are generated during play against thecomputer in default mode which differs little from FIG. 1 with the priorart other than that data from which the profile is ultimately derivedwill be accumulated in the course of play during one or more gamesessions. It is also envisioned and intended that profiles could becreated either during head-to-head play or play against a profile. FIG.4 shows a timeline of recursive profile generation. At point 100, thefirst game session begins. The game session ends at point 101. Betweenpoints 100 and 101, PP₁ is generated. At point 102, PP₁ is installed asa contributor to the vectors in the game model. For the remainder ofthis discussion, it will be assumed that the installation of a PP is asa proxy opponent However, one of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize that the recursive generation can equally be applied to othertypes of PP input. A second game session begins at point 103 andcontinues through point 104 during which a PP₂ is During the generationof PP₂, PP₁ acts as a proxy opponent. Here, the generated P_(P2) may beeither generated from a blink slate or be a composite of thepre-existing PP₁ assimilated with new important characteristic data fromthe second game session delineated by time points 103 and 104. At thetime point 105, PP₂ is installed as a proxy opponent, and the processcontinues through N-sessions where the Nth session is delineated by timepoints 106 and 107.

It is important that PP be readily exchangeable between players so as tohave opponents independent of time constraints and schedulingdifferences associated with real life. FIG. 5 shows a systemorganization which, in addition to providing ready transferability ofPPs, also facilitates other profile related open which are independentof both players (examples are discussed below). The first node 21 andsecond node 22 are coupled locally by local link 23. Nodes 21, 22, 30are also linked to either first host 25 or second host 26 via links 24.Nodes 21, 22, 30 may be personal computers, work stations, or any othersuitable networkable game station. In one exemplary embodiment, firsthost 25 and second host 26 are servers on the Internet. First host 25 islinked to second host 26 by host-to-host link 27. In the event thatnodes 31 wish to access the first host 25, they must do it through thesecond host 26 via the host-to-host link 27.

Two hosts and an arbitrary plurality of nodes have been shown in FIG. 5,however, any number of hosts and nodes are within the scope andcontemplation of the invention. Moreover, first host 25 and itsassociated nodes 21, 22, 30 may constitute a local area network (LAN).The overall system shown in FIG. 5 may constitute any kind of networkand need not be the Internet, nor is any particular transfer protocolmandated by the invention. At the simplest level, PPs may be exchangedbetween node by simply handing a disk on which the PP has been stored toanother user. The user may then install the profile on that user's localnode from the disk. It is tier envisioned that profiles may bedistributed as attachments to e-mail or any similar system.

In one exemplary embodiment, a PP is created on node 21. Node 21 and theother nodes 22,30 associated with first host 25 are given sufficientrights to permit them to upload profiles to the first host 25.Conversely, nodes 31 may only be able to upload to host 26. First host25 then acts as a library of PPs which may be catalogued by age group,skill level, or some other objective criteria. These profiles may en beaccessed by any node with access rights to first host 25, eitherdirectly or indirectly, and with or without charge at the discretion ofthe host's owner. A listing of available downloadable PPs may be shownon a web page maintained by the host

From a player prospective, it may be desirable not to know the precisemetric of a PP's important characteristics as such could influence thestrategy taken in attempting to defeat the PP in its role as a proxyopponent In another embodiment, the profiles may be computationallyplayed against each other on, for example, the first host or a relatedhost either in a tournament format or in an effort to find a suitableprofile and/or real opponent for either proxy or head-to-headcompetition.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual model of a profile enabled pseudo-game of theinvention. In a pseudo-game, two or more PPs compete against each otherindependent of the players that created them. The competition occurs ina context which may be different than the context of the game whichinvolves human input, for example there would be no need for graphicalor audio output. Thus, the pseudo-game may be implemented in a whollyseparate coding from the underlying game. In FIG. 6, first PP 50competes against second PP 60 in a pseudo-game. At each inflection point48 in the pseudo-game, underlying constraints 5, random factors 6, andrelevant metrics from first PP 50 and second PP 60 are fed intostatistical engine 70 which resolves profiled metrics constituents ofthe inflection point and continues a pseudo-game until a finalresolution is reached. In view of the fact that there are no humanplayers in the pseudo-game, it does not suffer the real time constraintsof a regular game and need not provide the graphical presentationrequisite in most popular games. However, it should maintain enoughresemblance to the real game that outcomes of the pseudo-game whichemploy profiles of sufficient quality are consistent with outcomes hadthe game been played in full format or had the game been playedhead-to-head by the human players from whose interaction with the gamethe profiles were created. Of course, playing profiles against eachother in partially abridged or full format is within the scope andcontemplation of the invention.

The value of playing one profile against another profile is evident intwo cases. In the first case, a player attaches or associates theplayer's PP to a free running avatar-robot-agent ("avatar") 32 which(referring to FIG. 5) traverses link 24 to first host 25. At first host25, the avatar 32 may seek out other avatars 33 with PPs from identicalgames to pit its attached PPs against in a pseudo-game. The avatars 32,33 may include a set of criteria that may be applied to the output of apseudo-game, or are applied to the profile itself that are used todetermine if the profiled owner of the other proxy would constitute aworthy opponent in actual head-to-head play. Alternatively, the avatars32, 33 can merely make a note of which opponents might be worthy so thatthe player can download corresponding profiles for proxy play at theplayer's convenience. This system avoids wasting either player's timewhen the match is clearly unsuitable. Moreover, if the avatar fails tofind a suitable opponent on first host 25, it may traverse thehost-to-host link 27 and search second host 26 for a suitable opponentamong the players without uploading rights to first host 25 (or playerwith rights which only uploaded to second host 26). In this manner, alarge number of PPs may be screened without impacting the seekingplayer's game experience.

In the second case, a sponsor (possibly a vendor or host provider) mayrun virtual tournaments which pits entrants' profiles against each otherin a predetermined format, for example, a round robin or a singleelimination tournament As a practical matter, these virtual tournamentsmay be arbitrarily large because they do not suffer the real timeconstraints of conventional play. Moreover, the vendor can use thesetournaments as a method of acquiring demographic data and/or promotionalexposure. Tournament results may be posted on a web page, thereby givingentrants an opportunity for bragging rights. Additionally, the winningplayer may be awarded some prize to encourage participation. In return,the sponsor may require entrants to fill out an entry form or survey ofsome kind and/or page through web pages of advertisements in order toreach the entry stage. It is envisioned that the exposure value and/ormarket research value will exceed the cost of sponsoring thetournaments.

Most of the foregoing has assumed that the virual tournaments and thehead-to-head competition occurs with only a single individual on aparticular side. However, it is also possible that teams of PPs may bepitted against either other teams of PPs or teams of human players.Moreover, this premise can be expanded to a multi-user domain (MUD)gaming scheme which contains elements of game play which occur on theserver and elements of game play which occur on a local machine. In suchcase, the PPs interact with the MUD effecting the virual reality inwhich play occurs.

FIG. 7 is a timeline of a cooperative profile gaming experience. At time130, the game begins and participants interact with virtual space. Teamsare formed, and traditional MUD-type activities occur to shape thecontext of the world which becomes a first virtual reality 132. At time131, the constraints of the virtual world are frozen and exported tolocal nodes. Participants engage in computer and graphic intensive playon the local node based on the parameters of the game which reflect afirst virtual reality 132. During this play, PPs are generated. At time134, the PPs from a local game play are uploaded to the server whichreconciles the profiles of all the participants to create a secondvirtual reality 136. Reconciliation could occur as an averagingfunction, where the PPs of all members of each team are averaged and theoutcomes are pitted against each other.

Reconciliation could also occur on an individual basis. For example in abattle game, the PPs of individual combatants could be randomly matchedand computationally pitted against the PPs of combatants from anotherteam. After an initial set of battles a certain number of combatantsfrom each side will remain. There could be a second battle betweensurviving profiles, with the underlying constraints reflecting anyadvantage a particular team has based on the outcome of the first battledue to numbers of participants. At some point the virtual reality isfrozen which reflects the outcome of the battle or battles. The gamecontinues into the indeterminate future periodically reconcilingprofiles based on local play and downloading new viral realities until apredetermined endpoint is reached.

For example, in a Star Wars digital videodisc (DVD)-based game, a localplayer could buy a disc and play locally, fight head-to-head, orparticipate in an on-line MUD where players would register for sessionsand be assigned roles via a website. Players would engage in activitiesbased on their role, such as applying a fixed budget to multipleavailable armaments or fortifications. These activities would shape aninitial virtual reality which would be fixed at some point in time, thendownloaded to the players' nodes, and then incorporated into theunderlying constraints for local game play. Players who have combatantroles would engage in local battles where their performance would beprofiled. The profiles would then be uploaded to the server, andcomputationally pitted against other profiles to determine the state ofthe next virtual reality. Optional interactive sessions between localgame sessions may also contribute to the next virtual reality. It can beseen that this type of play provides a very different experience thanthe MUD games which currently exist.

In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described withreference to specific embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evidentthat various modifications and changes can be made thereto withoutdeparting from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as setforth in the appended claims. The specification and drawings are,accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictivesense. Therefore, the scope of the invention should be limited only bythe appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising:tracking data, duringcomputer game play, related to a set of characteristics that compose aplayer profile of a game; and deriving the player profile, includingmetrics corresponding to the characteristics from at least one gamesession of the game; and using the player profile as a proxy opponentfor a first player.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein trackingcomprises:identifying an inflection point of the game session; andretaining data about player response at the inflection point.
 3. Themethod of claim 2 wherein the game has a plurality of inflection pointsand wherein the step of deriving comprises:generating metrics for eachcharacteristic from the data about player response such that a responseat each successive inflection point further defines the values of thecharacteristics included in the player profile.
 4. The method of claim 1wherein deriving further comprising:iteratively playing the game with aprevious player profile as an opponent; and replacing the previousplayer profile with a new player profile resulting from a game sessionin which the previous player profile was the opponent.
 5. A methodcomprising:tracking data, during computer game play, related to a set ofcharacteristics that compose a player profile of a game; deriving theplayer profile, including metrics corresponding to the characteristicsfrom at least one game session of the game; storing a plurality ofplayer profiles of different players; and employing at least one of theplayer profiles to modify default behavior of the game of a first playerwherein the employed player profile serves as a proxy opponent in ahead-to-head competition.
 6. The method of claim 5 wherein a new playerprofile of the first player is derived from play against the proxyopponent.
 7. A method of interactive adaptive game play based on playerprofiles comprising:receiving a role from an interactive host;downloading a first virtual reality to a local node; conducting play ofa game session on the local node during which a player profile isderived; and uploading a result of the local play and the derived playerprofile to the host for reconciliation with results of other local playsuch that a new virtual reality is created.
 8. The method of claim 7further comprising the step of:repeating the steps of downloading,conducting, and uploading an indeterminate number of times until apredetermined end point is reached and wherein a downloaded virtualreality is the new virtual reality of each repetition.
 9. The method ofclaim 8 further comprising interacting with other players on the hostbetween each local play session, the interaction affecting the virtualreality.
 10. The method of claim 9 wherein the interactive sessionsoccur over the Internet.
 11. A method of conducting an interactiveadaptive game comprising:assigning a player a role at a host;establishing a virtual reality at the host; freezing the virtual realityin a known state, the virtual reality downloadable in the known state;receiving results of local play which affect the virtual reality;andreconciling the results with the virtual reality to create a newvirtual reality.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein player interactionon the host affects the virtual reality until the virtual realty isfrozen.
 13. A computer readable storage media containing executablecomputer program instructions which when executed cause a digitalprocessing system to perform a method comprising:defining a set ofcharacteristics; collecting data during a game session, the datarelative to the characteristics and obtained to a granularity such thata player profile modeling game play can be derived therefrom; and usingthe player profile as a proxy opponent for a player.
 14. The computerreadable storage media of claim 13 which when executed cause a digitalprocessing system to perform a method further comprising:deriving theplayer profile during a first instantiation of the game; and employingthe player profile to provide input during a subsequent instantiation ofthe game.
 15. A method comprising:tracking data, during computer gameplay, related to a set of characteristics that compose a player profileof a game; and deriving the player profile, including metrics having apredetermined granularity corresponding to the characteristics from atleast one game session of the game; and using the player profile as aproxy opponent for a first player.
 16. A method of adaptive gaminghaving a plurality of inflection points comprising the steps of:trackingdata, during computer games play, related to a set of characteristicsthat compose a player profile of a game wherein the step of trackingdata further comprises the steps of identifying an inflection point ofthe game session and retaining data about player response at theinflection point; deriving the player profile, including metricscorresponding to the characteristics from at least one game session ofthe game wherein the step of deriving the player profile furthercomprises the step of generating metrics for each characteristic fromthe data about player response such that a response at each successiveinflection point further defines the values of the characteristicsincluded in the player profile; and employing the player profile of afirst player derived in a prior session to modify a behavior of the gameduring a subsequent session.